I have never fished there before and was wanting to take my clacka down it. Any info and help would be great, is it best to float with water running or not and what is the best place to put in and take out. All I need is a few pointers, I'll be heading back to Iraq in a week and a half and am just trying to hit as many rivers around here as I can. Thanks again for all the help guys.

__________________"If you don't care where you are, you ain't lost" - Robert Ruark"

You definitely want to float it when they release water, but only on 1 generator. The place to put in is at the peach orchard boat ramp. If you get off at the Clinton exit on I-75 and head down towards the starbucks take a right on Hillvale road which is right before the waffle house. Go about a mile and take a left at Peach Orchard road. After two miles there is a road on the left and there are some signs for Peach Orchard ramp. Make sure you get in the water before the flow gets there. I launch about 2 hours after they start generating and get down to better water to meet the flow. Stay up on the flow and you can ride it down to the take out past the 61 bridge. the take out is on old sinking springs road. i like to throw streamers but pheasant tails work well too. float times vary and I've never really timed it but i would assume that i normally spend about 6 hours out there, but if the water gets too low, navigating the rocks down the home stretch at the jail is a real pain - and not too good for your boat. but i've done it in considerably less time too. just take a look at the generation schedule

thanks for the info, i will try that this week sometime, i went and fished the caney last week and had a blast and have been hitting the hiwassee really hard, i'm just trying to get in as much fishing as i can because it will be a long time before i will get to do anymore, thanks again.

__________________"If you don't care where you are, you ain't lost" - Robert Ruark"

Either water up or water down. Just depends on how you wish to fish, if you wish to chunk streamers then water up. If you wish to nymph fish or fish dries then water down. IMO you will catch far more fish with the water down. Be prepared to leave some gel coat behind however.

I floated the clinch last weekend a between me and my partner we ended up in the 40s or so total trout. But we caught all of them before the water started rising. We only got a few follows on out streamers once the water was to high to wade. We nomally put in at peach orchard area around day light and float to the hwy 61 bridge. The water is usually high enough by the time we get to the church area that we don't have to worry about the rocks.

Yes it can take a toll on a boat, and it hurts for a while then the pain goes away.

There are three real bad boat beating places. Peach Orchard is the worst, then the bottom of Coldwater is nasty, and thankfully the water is usually up by the time you get to 61 bridge so you avoid that misery.

If you are worried about ripping chunks of glass, get out of the boat and walk it through. Nothing wrong with that approach, and my boat would be better off if I wasn't determined to round the edges of the rocks off by continually hitting them

Feather and Fly ~ How'd the Hiwasse treat ya? Haven't been there in almost a month.....love that place. Will be there hopefully this weekend.....Let us know if you need anything while in Iraq, I am constantly sending pkgs over there......